A book analysing new forms of family capitalism has just been published

Family businesses are carving out prominent roles within the economy, and above all they demonstrate the strength of a corporate culture that was once considered outdated. This is the theme explored in ‘Family offices e private equity. L’evoluzione del capitalismo familiare’ (Family offices and private equity: the evolution of family capitalism), a recently published book by Eugenio Morpurgo.

Morpurgo analyses an emerging phenomenon that could revitalise family capitalism: what are known as family offices and family-owned investment holding companies that invest directly in the capital of unlisted companies, either by diversifying away from their core business or by reinvesting resources generated by extraordinary liquidity events. These entities, as he points out, are playing an increasingly significant role in the real economy, particularly in the Italian economic fabric. The latter is a particularly receptive environment, where family-run businesses are traditionally widespread and operate with a long-term perspective.

Readers will first find a description of the phenomenon and then an interpretation of it.
Italian family offices active in direct private equity today number around sixty, and the book is the first to list them alongside an equal number of foreign family offices active in Italy. These organisations have completed over 370 transactions since 2016, with an acceleration in the last four years. As the book explains, these are investment decisions characterised by a long-term perspective, swift decision-making, an industrial approach and the absence of the divestment constraints typical of traditional funds. Consequently, family offices find themselves as the key players in this ‘patient capital’, which is gaining ever greater credibility and prominence.

As well as providing a snapshot of the phenomenon, Morpurgo examines the motivations behind direct investment and outlines how family offices operate: types of acquisition and sectors of focus. But that is not all, because the book also addresses the challenges relating to organisational strengthening, attracting specialist expertise, greater continuity in investments and collaboration with other market players, in a context where the efficiency of the civil justice system and the predictability of the rules remain decisive factors in mobilising patient capital.

Eugenio Morpurgo’s book is therefore well worth reading. Above all, it should be used as a guide to help readers better understand certain decisions taken in Italy.

Family offices e private equity. L’evoluzione del capitalismo familiare

Eugenio Morpurgo

Ega, 2026